Texas Beyond History

Fort McKavett and Hill Country Frontier

In the ruggedly scenic Texas Hill Country, small settlements
still bear the imprint of German and French immigrants who traveled thousands
of miles to colonize a land said to be a "paradise." Instead,
the colonists found themselves on the edge of the western frontier, their
small farms and hamlets serving as "buffer zones" against the
Indians in much the same way the Spanish Colonial colonies buffered the
Mexican border along the Rio Grande. The United States Army built Fort
McKavett as part of its effort to protect the immigrant settlements and
travelers on the "upper road" from San Antonio to El Paso in
the 1850s. The post was reactivated after the Civil War, and became the
headquarters of one of the all-black regiments known as "buffalo
soldiers" assigned to the protection of western Texas. To begin your
tour of the Hill Country frontier, click on the link to Cultural Collisions
in the Hill Country. Return to the Frontier Forts main page by clicking
on the flag logo.